35-year-old female experienced an episode of lower back pain. Her doctor prescribed injections with Orudis, followed by further treatment with Voltaren. The treatment resulted in a simple remission of pain, that then re-appear at the same intensity as initially. The doctor established a new treatment that consisted of Indoxen and Bentelan. The patient experienced a remission of symptoms until even more intense lumbar pain returned spreading to the left leg. She recieved Voltaren, Muscoril, and Indoxen. Lumbar-sacral NMR showed disc central protrusion.
67-year-old male began to complain of chronic pain in the left lower rib cage. The pain is stitch, ever-present, dull and localized at the level of his left last rib, and became slightly worse in the last 2 years. Recent image findings: MRI - "Ovalish hypoechogenic solid formation, Ultra sound - "Suspected intercostal neurinoma at ribs 10, 11 and 12.
The patient experienced an episode of lower back pain while carrying home shopping bags. Her family doctor diagnosed a “left lumbosciatic pain” and prescribed injections with vials of Orudis and Voltaren. The treatment resulted in temporary remission, therefore the patient started a new treatment regiment of Indoxen and Bentelan + acupuncture treatment which was partially beneficial.
A 47 years old female underwent total thyroidectomy for papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, followed by treatment with radioactive Iodine (I131).
Since then, the patient has been suffering from severe facial pain (left>right), dry mouth and recurrent local infections. She was diagnosed with bilateral sialadenitis, and was repeatedly treated with endoscopy and repeat washing. Medical treatment for neurogenic pain wasn't helpfull, as well as visits to different salivary gland specialists.
35 years old male. 3 years ago an episode of lumbar pain. After an X-ray test and lumbar spine MNR a disc herniation was diagnosed. Later on, disorders showed up sporadically, and 15 days ago, as a result of backache recurrence, the patient decided to carry out diagnostic deepening performing a new lumbosacral magnetic resonance and an electromyographic examination.
27-year-old female with a diagnosis of suspected fibromyalgia. Her history includes long standing widespread musculo – skeletal pain connected to a feeling of general slight illness, as well as a series of accompanying symptoms: frequent migraines, cervicalgia, stomach disorders, chest pain and tachycardia . Therefore, she has carried out various follow-ups that each time detected a different problem for which the relevant therapy was set out.
70-year-old female with a history of diabetes mellitus began experiencing pain in the legs. In the last few months the pain localized in her inner thighs. It is burning in nature, with sudden intense attacks, and is consistent with neuropathic pain with neuralgic features. The expert suggests possible diagnosis, further investigation and symptomatic treatment. In his opinion, it is likely that the cause of the symptoms is peripheral neuropathy or radiculopathy.
25-year-old male had an outbreak of sharp pain in the loin, and afterwards complained of partial sensory anesthesia in his leg. He has been given prescribed treatment that included blockades, magnetotherapy, and ultrasound massage with hydrocortison. He experienced back pain for the first time after lifting a heavy thing, and got a pain relief after taking a pain-killer and applying Finalgon ointment. After few months the pain reoccurred. The patient then got a MRT test and was prescribed Finalgon and Milgamma pills, but developed an allergy towards Milgamma.
44-year-old male that sustained a contusion to his left shoulder while falling at his home. Following the fall he suffered severe pain. An ultrasound to the shoulder was interpreted as showing some changes in the ACJ and peritendinitis of the biceps brachi. The orthopedic surgeon that examined the patient about 2 weeks post injury had the impression of tendinopathy and requested an MRI that had indicated changes in signals in the ACJ and superior impingement of the supraspinatus and peritendinitis of the biceps. On the basis of these findings an arthroscopy was suggested.
25-year-old male suffers from pain in his left knee that shows up after carrying out a limited physical activity. The length and the importance of the pain are proportional to the intensity of the physical activity, the pain is gradual, and is linked to the movement of the knee joint. Knee MRN showed misalignment of the femur and kneecap with the patella, diffuse superficial edema of the kneecap cartilage, and signs of diffuse tendinopathy. In the expert's opinion, the patient suffers from patello-femoral knee pain due to patellar malalignment or patellar maltracking.
The patient, 43 year old, used to be very physically active and carry a large amount of equipment on him.
73-year-old female with history of backache and diagnosis of Adult Scoliosis, fell down getting a back trauma at the level of the left hip and inferior limb. After severe symptomatic worsening X-ray examination was performed. The findings were: asymmetric pelvis, bilateral coxarthrosis, coarse arthrosic and osteophytosic manifestations, discopathies and disc arthrosis. The prescribed therapy included Piroxicam, Tioside, Depalgos, and low-molecular-weight-heparin therapy that was later replaced by NSAIDs by injection
41-year-old male that in the past decade had suffered 2-3 times a year from bilateral knee pain which resolved spontaneously. Last year he had episodes of thumb pain that had lasted for several weeks and had affected grasp movements. The patient had responded to NSAID treatment for 2 weeks. MRI of the right knee showed Mild endoarticular effusion in the sub-quadriceps recess, chondropathy of the femoropatellar joint and lesion of the medial meniscus.
A 58 years old male. 4 years ago the patient was hospitalized due to acute thrombosis of the right femoral-iliac axis. The patient was treated succesfully with locoregional intra-arterial fibrinolytic therapy. A follow-up arteriography, revealed sub-occlusion of the common iliac, occlusion of the right superficial femoral artery in Hunter’s canal. PTA + stent of the iliac was carried out with excellent final angiographic result.
38-year-old female started to suffer pain in her right foot on without a notable trauma. She was examined by several orthopeadic doctors and she got different opinions. The first diagnosed medium sprain of right foot and slight tumefaction on forefoot, and suggested her paracetamol administration that was with no benefit. The second specialist diagnosed sesamoiditis and right plantar fasciitis with 3rd degree cavus-valgus feet and recommended Depomedrol + Lidocaine, Pennsaid drops and NSAIDs. As part of the examinations she underwent an MR with and without Gadolinium.
18 years old male. 4 months ago the patient was hospitalized due to epigastric abdominal pain, lack of appetite and weight loss. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.
Hepatic biopsy, that was performed during this hospitslization, showed evidence of an overlap syndrome picture (cholangitis/hepatitis). He was initially treated with Cortisone and Azathioprine.
41 year-old male was recently diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (MS) after episodes of leg and shoulder weakness and parasthesis. Lately he experiences dizziness. His MRI showed several demyelinating lesions, other ancillary tests showed demyelinating damage to the auditory and visual pathway. Currently he has no functional or sensorial deficiencies. He was offered several immunomodulatory treatment options: Rebif, Betaferon and Copaxone, and asks about their pros, cons and complications, and about the differential diagnosis.
47-year-old male has injured his right wrist while playing football 30 years ago. He always had some manageable pain while playing tennis. The pain increased during the last 12 months, and following this, MRI studies were performed. They revealed wrist Diastasis between scaphoid and semilunar bone in agreement with a lesion of the scapholunate ligament and pronounced radioscaphoid arthrotic manifestations. In the expert's opinion, the patient is suffering from post traumatic osteoarthritis of radio-carpal joint brought upon by ligamentous injuries due to trauma.
43-year-old male suffered of cervical disc herniation, and therefore C5-6 and C6-7 discectomy and fusion were done. About one year later he experienced acute sciatica followed by hot pricking sensation in the arm and neck. MRI showed far lateral bulge of L3-4 on the left and small disc bulge on C4-5, and a larger C5-6 disc herniation. Neurological examination disclosed C6-C7 radiculopathy on the left, minimal weakness of biceps and triceps muscles and reduced biceps reflex. EMG and physical examination were consistent with bilateral radiculopathy, attributed to small disc herniation.
47-year-old male has injured his right wrist while playing football 30 years ago. He always had some manageable pain while playing tennis. The pain increased during the last 12 months. The wrist CT scan that the expert recommended revealed diastasis between scaphoid and semilunar bone, palmar dislocation, dorsal intercalated segmental instability (DISI), marked radio-scaphoid arthritis and reactive sclerosis of the subchondral bone. This findings conformed the previous diagnosis of post traumatic osteoarthritis of radio-carpal joint brought upon by ligamentous injuries due to trauma.
47-year-old female with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis ,who suffers from progressive tetraparesis, more pronounced in the lower extremities. Her treatment included mitoxantrone and Interferon-beta treatment, both were discontinued because of side effects. Her movement difficulties, due to the left lower limb rigidity, are increasing progressively.
A 40 years old female has been suffering from cluster headache for the last 20 years. For the last 1.5 years it has been transformed from an episodic form to a chronic one. The patient reports an episodes of vertigo, for which she carried out otorhinolaryngology examination and brain NMR. On NMR was detected a periventricular lesion of about 1.2 cm, without mass effect. This lesion was probably present also 4 years ago, when the patient underwent another NMR.
60-year-old patient was diagnosed with Still's disease. He was treated with high doses of corticosteroids (methylprednisolone, 110 mg daily). The dose was gradually lowered to 4 mg daily. In the last 2 years he had two exacerbations of the disease which were successfully treated by the increased dose of methylprednisolone. The expert recommends different complementary treatments that can be helpful to reduce pain , other symptoms and inflammation, reduce the dose of the drugs needed to control the disease, and improve quality of life.
47-year-old male presented with un-provoked portal and mesenteric vein thrombosis that caused persistent radiating pains of upper abdominal quadrants. The examinations found heterozygous factor II mutation, and family survey for the factor II mutation was recommended. The patient started anticoagulant therapy. In the expert's opinion, the main risk factors for portal vein thrombosis are: Prothrombotic disorder, abdominal inflammation, cirrhosis, cancer, abdominal intervention and abdominal infection.
A very physically active 49-year-old male with a history of labile hypertension and hypercholesterolemia with an LDL cholesterol of 126 mg%. He underwent an exercise stress test which revealed reversible inferoseptal ischemia at a peak heart rate of 171 bpm and peak blood pressure of 195/85. In the expert's opinion, the results suggest that the patient has silent myocardial ischemia and may be at risk for sudden cardiac death, especially in light of the marked exertional level of activity.
A 50 years old male with generalized ligamentous laxity and long history of distortions (Sprains) of the ankles. On the right ankle the incidence and severity of the sprains had increased significantly in recent months. On MRI imaging of both ankles: in the right ankle the lateral stabilizing ligaments are damaged and incongruent. On the left ankle the picture is similar with an old fracture of the tip of the medial malleolus which is not united, but not significantly displaced. Right ankle instability was diagnosed and “Brodstrum“ type operation on right ankle has been suggested.
51-year-old-male, complained of low back pain and has been diagnosed as having multiple myeloma (MM), light chain disease of the lambda type. His past medical history is remarkable for a cardiac disease. The expert believes it is cardiomyopathy, which can be amyloidotic (related to the MM) or hypertensive-atherosclerotic, or combined. The patient received anti-MM induction type of treatment (VTD combination), followed by high-dose cyclophosphamide (HDC) and autologous stem cell transplantation. The patient's low platelet count is of concern.
48-year-old male underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for symptomatic cholelithiasis. During post-surgery he developed intense abdominal colics and a situation of hepatitis, probably from medicines as the tests carried out. Performed tests revealed changes of haematic values related to the hepato-renal function. MR-cholangiography showed cystic formation in the right lobe of the liver, and tumor markers that gave evidence of an increase of alpha-fetoprotein which should be monitored.
23-year-old female had episodes of hemiparesis, dysmetria and parenthesis underwent MRI that showed a demyelization process. After she was hospitalized with Left Retro-Bulbar Optic Neuritis, she started treatment with weekly injections of AVONEX (Interferon beta-1a). Now she is in good general health and asks about stopping the Anovex treatment. The expert answers that she shouldn't stop the treatment , because the purpose of the medications is to prevent exacerbations, that may leave neurologic residual dysfunction.
65-year-old female that suffers from pain in the left knee underwent examinations that showed femoral-tibial arthrotic manifestations, external degenerative meniscal tear and moderate joint effusion. A diagnosis of external degenerative meniscal tear was established. Further medical tests showed marked degeneration of the meniscal fibrocartilage, diffuse femoral-tibial arthrotic abnormalities, subchondral cysts and edema of the spongious bone, as well as rarefaction of the cartilage matrix, and manifestations of chondropathy.
A 23 year old female was diagnosed 7 years ago with multiple sclerosis. The patient had 4 acute attacks 7 years ago, and since then she has been treated by Avonex. The patient had no attacks since then, feel healthy and lead a normal healthy life as a busy university student. She enjoys sports several times a week, and there are no problems regarding her physical and mental function. Neurologically, the only reminiscence of her illness is a positive Babinsky sign in the left leg and a temporal blindness in the left eye.
A 37 years old female suffered from multiple traumas caused by road accident with admittance to emergency room- multiple contusions, cervicalgia(due to whiplash) and contusion-laceration injury to left knee. An MRI scan of the knee was performed two months later (MRI findings are attached below) and the patient was examined by a specialist who gave a diagnosis of medial meniscal tear and femur-kneecap pain in the left knee. A broken medial meniscus of the left knee diagnosis should lead to an arthroscopic operation.
7-year-old boy with prodrome of right-sided and right face weakness, gait ataxia, and intermittent headaches. Head computed tomography demonstrated a tumor at the brainstem/posterior fossa, and then MRI confirmed a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (a typical brainstem glioma). Following initiation of dexamethasone (Decadron, steroid for vasogenic edema), the child has started experimental treatment with the medicine nimotuzumab to be followed with conventional radiotherapy.
74-year-old female suffers from recurrent episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and has been recommended oral anti-coagulant therapy with warfarin (Coumadin). She has mitral regurgitation, and on the other hand was diagnosed as suffering from congenital bronchiectasis with several episodes of significant bleeding (hemoptysis). Following these hemoptoic episodes she underwent series of diagnostic as well as therapeutic pulmonary intervention (bronchoscopy, angiography, embolization).
31 years old healthy man, a month ago, during a soccer match, had a trauma of the right shoulder and was diagnosed with right glenohumeral luxation.
The Emergency Room orthopedist reduced luxation, and during the first days of the event, the patient treated pain, of modest importance and bearable. At present, the day pain has completely disappeared reappearing a bit at night and affecting mainly the forearm.
67-year-old with multiple co morbities: Heart, renal, vascular, hypertensive. His biopsy showed left lower lobe lung mass that was a TTF-1 Non small cell lung cancer- most likely an adenocarcinoma. Multiple small nodules < than 1cm were noted without certain etiology, together with “masses” in the upper abdomen and left arm. Recommended therapy includes single agent Vinorelbine.
67-year-old with multiple co morbities: Heart, renal, vascular, hypertensive. His biopsy showed left lower lobe lung mass that was a TTF-1 Non small cell lung cancer- most likely an adenocarcinoma. Multiple small nodules < than 1cm were noted without certain etiology, together with “masses” in the upper abdomen and left arm. Recommended therapy includes single agent Vinorelbine.
72-year-old male with a diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse and chronic severe mitral regurgitation, aortic root and ascending aorta dilatation and patent foramen ovale. On 06/2008 he had dissection of the descending aorta. The clinical course has been characterized by hemodynamic stability and the vascular surgeon decided on conservative treatment and follow–up by thoracic CT.
47-year-old female with a 4-year history of cervical dystonia. She has been treated with botulinum toxin injections which were ineffective for her. In the expert's opinion, the success of Botulinum toxin in cervical dystonia depends on a thorough clinical assessment, exact targeting of the chosen muscles, and adequate doses of toxin injected. The expert also suggests additional or alternative treatment strategies: medical treatment by different oral drugs, or deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus interna.
39-year-old male was diagnosed to have a neuroendocrine tumour with synchronic liver metastases. The disease was treated with an etoposide-carboplatin combination, Interferon A, somatostatin analogue and Zebra fish egg derived dietary supplements. In early 2008, a tumour progression was noted in that the disease started to produce the epithelial tumour markers CEA and CA 19-9.
48-year-old male who had undergone multiple surgical attempts to augment mandibular bone for implant placement ('pins'). The patient received the opinion of a spesialist who spotted severe atrophy in the right mandibular posterolateral area. He reported on the condition of the mucosa with high insertion of frenii in the level of the alveolar ridge. Also the report related to occlusion problem and temporo mandibular dysfunction. In 2007, the patient received a report following a neurophysiological examination of the masseter muscle showing a change in sensation from the lower alveolus.
Female patient suffered an episode of sudden shooting pains in her hands while swimming. Since this episode, there has been a progressive improvement. However, the patient still suffers from hypersensitivity in her arms, together with hyperesthesia manifesting predominantly in her hands. For 3 years, the patient has suffered from paresthesia and burning sensations in her arms. Her MRI found marked degenerative differences with spinal narrowing and protruding discs causing pressure on the spinal cord. Spinal cord irregularities found at C5-C6 level.
67 year old male, previously a heavy smoker, suffering for 2 months from weakness, diminished appetite and weight loss. Tests showed a mass in right arm, possibly attached to muscle, and tenderness in right ribs. Chest CT showed a mass in LLL, lung foci, suspected secondary spread and masses in upper abdomen. CT guided biopsy from right lung mass was consistent with non small cell carcinoma with extensive necrosis. SPECT bone scan showed many focal findings in the vertebrae L,D2,7, most of the ribs bilaterally and in the limbs- suspected for secondary pathology.
43 years old patient without any notable pathologies in anamnesis. After two episodes of severe hematochezia the patient underwent EGD, Colonoscopy, digestive system X-rays with contrast medium and capsule endoscopy camera (digestive system micro camera) without any pathological evidences
74-year-old male suffers from pancytopenia and symptomatic anemia. Bone marrow aspiration revealed some myelodysplasia, and the patient started immune therapy. He continues to require repeated blood transfusions. The expert recommends to complete the diagnostic workup. If no other disease is diagnosed than it can be assumed that the patient carries the diagnosis of MDS hypoplastic type.
50-year-old male was diagnosed with Juvenile arthritis with systemic onset (Stills disease) after having symptoms of high fever, rashes and pain. He was treated with high doses of corticosteroids, but had two exacerbations in the last 2 years. In the current time he suffers of swelling of knee joints and hand joints, and occasionally a feeling of burning feet or cold feet. In the expert's opinion, the clinical description fit well with the diagnosis of adult onset systemic arthritis which manifestations are similar to the juvenile systemic arthritis.
74-year-old male has suffered over six months from pancytopenia. The main problem has been the symptomatic anemia, which required blood transfusions. Bone marrow aspiration revealed some myelodysplasia, and immune therapy has been prescribed. The expert suggests possible differential diagnosis of pancytopenia and recommends to establish a definite diagnosis before discussing treatment.
82-year-old female with severe osteoporosis manifests with vertebral fractures. During treatment with Risedronate, she suffered another fracture. In the expert's opinion, taking into account the patient's age, the presence of fractures and low BMD, the patient is at a very high risk to develop a recurrent fracture so treatment must be given. The expert recommends to rule out secondary causes for osteoporosis such as vitamin D deficiency, to keep a healthy as possible way of life, and change the treatment with Risedronate to Forteo (Teriparatide).
78-year-old female with history of diabetes, and meningioma complicated by neurologic deficits following surgery, was diagnosed with progressive iodine-refractory metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Her initial work-up revealed lung metastasis. She underwent a right thyroidectomy and then left thyroidectomy and laryngectomy, and subsequently received I-131 on 8 occasions. She had a drop in thyroglobulin levels to the early treatments, but most recently, thyroglobulin has steadily increased.